It is the time of year again, when America’s largest retailers release those critical holiday season figures and disclose their annual sales. A review of these numbers tells us a great deal about how most of the companies will do in the upcoming year. And while successful retailers in 2012 may add stores this year, those that have performed very poorly may have to cut locations during 2013 to improve margins or reverse losses.

For many retailers, the sales situation is so bad that it is not a question of whether they will cut stores, but when and how many.

Several of America’s largest retailers have been battered for years. Most have been undermined by a combination of e-commerce competition, often from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and more successful retailers in the same areas.

and why coudn't it be wal mart??? this sucks cuz we need more tech stores and less crappy stores.

Why do we need more tech stores? We don't really... The idea of having stores like Best Buy and RadioShack is hugely cost inefficient. Wal Mart isn't inherently bad, they just want to get by with the least overhead as possible which is why their service sucks so much.

Why do we need more tech stores? We don't really... The idea of having stores like Best Buy and RadioShack is hugely cost inefficient. Wal Mart isn't inherently bad, they just want to get by with the least overhead as possible which is why their service sucks so much.

you wanna wait 3 days to get an SD card??? or a simple mouse or USB drive? or do you wanna run down to radio shack or best buy and grab one really quick and have it that day?

Why do we need more tech stores? We don't really... The idea of having stores like Best Buy and RadioShack is hugely cost inefficient. Wal Mart isn't inherently bad, they just want to get by with the least overhead as possible which is why their service sucks so much.

It appears that Obama's plan is not working. What happened to that stimulus money?

What? A lot of those companies are closing shops because they're archaic and overpriced.

Best Buy - I shouldn't even need to bother explaining this one. Their customer service is terrible, their products are overpriced and they try to rip you off at every opportunity. There are tons of other places to get electronics for cheaper and with better service.

Barnes And Noble - Brick and mortar stores for books have been disappearing because online retailers like Amazon can sell the exact same books for a lot cheaper. Amazon doesn't have to worry about the massive costs of opening / maintaining stores, they only need a couple of massive warehouses and done.

Gamestop - Same story as B&N. Online stores like Steam and Origin have totally taken over the PC gaming market. For console games you have Amazon.

Radioshack - Same story as Best Buy just their customer service is better.

Try buying anything at Wal*Mart that was made in The USA.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that 90%+ of the stuff in Best Buy isn't made in the US either.

Don't they have all of those at random small local electronic stores? If not, maybe order in advance?

not all areas got those... mine doesn't... there's a place you can get high end home theater gear.... but no areas to buy a decent router or a class 10 Micro SD card I had to buy my G700 online, as no local places have those... they have maybe 2-3 Logitech mice that are on the lower-mid end and 2 choices of Linksys or Netgear routers and a 16Gb class 4 SD card. that's the choices you got here.

You don't have to wait 3 days. Stop by Walmart and pick one up.

all they got is lower class (speed) ones.... they rarely have any in stock that are higher then 8GB here as well...

you wanna wait 3 days to get an SD card??? or a simple mouse or USB drive? or do you wanna run down to radio shack or best buy and grab one really quick and have it that day?

Retail stores are not the same as, for instance, CompUSA. Best Buy and RadioShack are rip offs because they're hugely cost inefficient. So if my choices are being ripped off for some convenience, then yes, I will gladly wait 1-3 days. What will end up happening is online distributors will open up outlet stores to compliment their online presence.

the biggest problem with best buy is management. do these guys hire their family members as store managers? because whoever manages these places has no business doing so. I was at best buy the other day,and their car audio stations weren't working,speakers were ripped out, stereos on display missing or have broken parts.